Vanishing Shadows
by Green Flame
Summary: A dark presence steels towards Domino, and duelists start vanishing mysteriously without explination. Yugi and his friends must stop whoever's responsible before it's too late, or it could be the end for everyone.
1. Day 1

Bakura sat at the desk in his bedroom, homework out in front of him. The sun was sinking behind the horizon outside, casting shadows into his room, and so his desk lamp was on, washing his papers with a yellow glow. The clock next to him read 5:23. He sighed and began another sentence in an essay he was to write by tomorrow.

Suddenly, the golden pendant hanging from his neck, the Millennium Ring, let off a faint glow from the center of its decorative eye. Bakura blinked and grew slightly tense, as he thought he could almost feel something watching him from behind. He peered over his shoulder, then rose from his chair to face his empty room. He was greeted by nothing but the shadows and silence, but still, he was tense. Suddenly, he started to fade away.

Bakura gasped as he could see himself start to vanish, and he let out a yell, but it didn't penetrate the silence in his room. Before he could do anything, he was gone.

Bakura's room now stood empty, without any trace of the white-haired boy. The sun continued to sink behind the clouds and horizon as always, but tomorrow would prove to be a very different day than usual.

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Yugi sat at his desk, enjoying the freshness of the new morning. His friends, Joey, Tristan, and Tea, all stood around him, taking the time before class began to converse and make fun of each other. Students still poured into the classroom, taking advantage of their free time before the teacher had reign over them all.

Yugi began to frown as his friends' conversation switched from topic to topic. There was something he had heard this morning that was distracting him, and he wanted to know their opinion on it. "Hey, Joey, did you read about that weird missing persons case in the newspaper today?" He asked after he had politely waited for them to finish talking.

"Huh? Yeah, I did read that… very strange." Joey answered, starting to wonder about it.

"What missing persons case?" Tea asked. "I don't really read the paper." She knew that Yugi followed the events in the news very closely, sometimes to the point where it irritated her, but she felt she should ask, if it was bothering him.

"It's strange, Tea. Three people disappeared yesterday, mysteriously, and they all happen to be duelists." Yugi answered. "First there was Mako Tsunami. The newspaper report said that he went out to go fishing yesterday afternoon, and that somebody went to go find him, but all that person found was his fishing rod lying on the ground, with a _fish_ still caught on the hook, as though he had just caught it. Then there was Weevil Underwood, who didn't come home after school. His mother said that that was usual, but that she got worried when he never came back for dinner. Third, and the most mysterious, is the disappearance of Espa Roba."

"Woah, all of those people disappeared?" Tea asked, a bit shocked. "But we know all of them!"

Joey nodded. "I know. What's weird about Espa's case is that they say there was no way he could have left and gone off somewhere without someone seeing, but he's gone. His brothers were with him when they were visiting a museum or something, and he went through a door ahead of them, but when one of his brothers followed, he was just… gone. They say it was impossible for him to have disappeared so quickly because there was only a second or two that Espa was out of sight."

There was a short and awkward silence between the group, before Yugi sighed. "I don't know, you guys. I'm kind of worried about this."

Tristan laughed. "Maybe they all just decided to go someplace to duel each other." Tea jabbed him in the stomach with her elbow, giving him a 'that's not funny' look.

"In all of the cases, there was no trace of evidence towards anything." Yugi continued after a minute. "No one knows if they all suddenly just walked away, or if someone is responsible, or what."

"I'm sure it's nothing too serious, Yug'. Don't worry about it, ok?" Joey said, knowing his friend could easily become stressed about this.

"But I just have a bad feeling about it…" Yugi trailed off. /What about you, Yami/ He queried the spirit residing in the Millennium Puzzle.

The spirit nodded. /I don't like this either, Yugi. I sense… trouble around the whole matter./

As the final bell rang, the surrounding students began to pile into their seats. Joey, Tristan, and Tea straightened to return to their seats as well, but as Joey looked he saw the desk next to his was empty. "Hey, you guys, Bakura isn't here today."

They all halted. As they met each others eyes, it was obvious that they were all thinking the same thing.

"But, Bakura isn't really a well-known duelist, you guys." Tea said.

"Yeah, but he did make it to the semi-finals of the Battle City tournament." Yugi said, sounding a bit anxious.

Joey opened his mouth to reply, but another voice interrupted. "Joey, Tristan, Tea! Return to your seats at once!" The teacher stood at the head of the class, looking at them all angrily. The three looked around as they all realized they were now the only ones standing, and slunk back to their seats, faces a bit red.

'Bakura's not here today… is it possible he's missing as well…?' Yugi thought, worried.

'He's probably just at home, sick or something. There must be a reason he couldn't come to school today.' Joey thought, thinking it improbable that their friend could be related to the story in the newspaper.

'I don't know about all this…' Tea looked back to the others, catching all of their eyes. Yugi gave a nod, and Tea nodded back, understanding what he meant; they had to check his house after school, just to be sure.

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"Well, this is Bakura's apartment." Joey announced as they all stood outside Bakura's door. "He's probably just sick or something." He repeated for about the fourth time that day.

"There's one way to find out." Yugi said, and reached out to knock the door. "Bakura? Are you home?" He called out, but as they waited, they were met with nothing but silence.

"Bakura! You in there, buddy?" Joey tried, louder than Yugi, and knocked a little harder. Again there was no response.

"Maybe… he went out somewhere today." Tristan said, as Yugi tried the door.

"It's unlocked." Yugi said, pushing the door open just a little. Tristan sighed as he pushed his theory out the window.

They all entered the apartment, looking around. Tea grew a little nervous. "Are you sure we should just be entering someone's house without their permission? Aren't we kind of invading Bakura's privacy?"

"We have to make sure nothing's happened to him." Yugi answered, as they traveled deeper in, Joey calling out their friend's name. "I'm sure Bakura would understand."

"I really don't think he's here, you guys." Tristan concluded, looking around the kitchen area. Joey nodded from the other side of the room. Tea looked in all directions, agreeing.

Yugi traveled back to Bakura's bedroom, opening the door and poking his head in. He quickly gasped. "Come here, you guys!"

The three rushed over and into the room, looking around for what could have made Yugi start. "… Guess he's not in here either." Joey said finally.

"That's not it," Yugi said as he walked towards Bakura's desk. "Look at this. His homework is out and everything, as though he was just doing it. And his desk lamp is on; don't you find that a little strange?"

"Hm… Why would Bakura leave his desk lamp on if he was going anywhere?" Tea asked, and Yugi nodded. Tea now saw his point; if Bakura had gone somewhere, he would have likely cleaned up and at least turned the lights off and lock the door. His textbook was still open as though he had just been reading it.

"Erm… Maybe… The spirit of the Ring decided to just take over and had to get somewhere in a hurry." Joey answered a bit awkwardly.

Yugi shook his head and inspected the desk closer, and frowned. "Joey, do you remember at what time they said Espa disappeared?"

"The newspaper said at 5:25." Joey answered.

"That's very strange as well…" Yugi muttered, and seeing his friends' faces, he explained. "Well, there's no proof, but all of these disappearances have the potential to have happened at the same time. We know exactly when Espa Roba went missing; Mako left for a few hours, creating a window of time including the time when Roba went away. Weevil was gone for hours, too, which means he could have disappeared at any time…"

"You really think they all went missing at the same time?" Tea asked. "Is that even possible? I mean, if there was someone behind this, how could they be in three places at once?"

"I don't know, but Bakura was alone at around 5:25, too." Yugi said. "I just have a really bad feeling… I think we should report this to the police."

"Hmm… Do you really think we have enough proof for them to go on?" Tristan asked. "We don't know; Bakura could come back tomorrow just fine, with an explanation for everything."

"Yeah, well, so could everyone else. I'm going to; if you don't want to come, that's ok." Yugi answered, not sounding rude at all, only troubled. It was clear he too was wondering how so many people, ones he knew, could have seemingly vanished without any traces.

"Yeah, come on you guys." Joey said with a hint of determination, and the others nodded.

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The group arrived at the Domino City Police Station a short while later. Yugi was first to enter the room, although it was obvious he was now becoming a bit shy about the whole thing. Joey took the lead and approached the officer behind the front desk.

"Excuse me," He said, thumping his arms onto the desk and resting them there, as to catch the officer's attention and let him know he meant business. "We'd like to report someone as missing."

The officer looked up lazily from the monitor of his computer, which he had been reading. "Well then, tell me a little more." He said, straightening up, but his attitude was beginning to bother Joey a little.

"Ryou Bakura." Yugi spoke up. "He didn't come to school today and when we checked his house it was empty." He started to feel his face grow a little red; those weren't exactly the best grounds on which to suspect someone missing.

The officer sunk back into his chair, obviously thinking the teens a joke. "Did you think that maybe he just went out somewhere?" He asked.

"Listen!" Joey said, ticked at not being taken seriously. "We think this has something to do with the other people who have disappeared- you know, the duelists."

"Well, you don't have a lot of convincing evidence. Why aren't his parents reporting him in?"

"Bakura lives in an apartment alone." Yugi spoke again, now more determined. "When we checked his house, his door was unlocked and he'd left a light on." The officer looked at him with unconvinced eyes. Yugi tried harder. "His homework was out, with his text books open, and the essay he was writing was stopped in mid-sentence! The pen was still uncapped right next to it!"

The officer sighed. "Fine, but kids, I'm sorry, for a person to be reported as missing, they have to have been gone for at least 24 hours."

"What?" Joey asked. "But then how were Mako, Espa, and Weevil reported missing? Didn't the newspaper say they'd disappeared yesterday? How could it have been in the paper this morning?"

"They weren't officially 'missing persons' this morning. The newspaper never said that." Yugi answered, thinking. "Thanks to Duelist Kingdom and Battle City, with a lot of help from Kaiba, the media keeps a close eye on things related to Duel Monsters. I bet when the newspaper heard that duelists from the last Battle City tournament were missing, it decided to make a story out of it anyways, even if it wasn't official yet."

"Wow, can they do that?" Joey asked, and Yugi shrugged.

"But the officer's right, Yugi." Tea said.

"Actually, Bakura has been missing for 24 hours, right? The last time any of us saw him was when school ended yesterday, and it's way past that time now." Yugi perked up. The rest of them smiled, grinning at the officer spitefully.

"And no one else has seen this kid?"

"Nope," Joey answered, even if he didn't know that was exactly true.

The officer sighed once more. "Fine." He gave in. "But don't expect this to be roped in with the other duelists." He said as he stood up, then went through the back door.

The group left the building and sat out on the front steps of the police office. "I didn't like his attitude." Joey said with a bit of contempt in his voice.

"I know what you mean." Tristan agreed. "But at least we got him to listen to us."

Yugi sighed; he wasn't satisfied with the amount of work the police seemed to be putting into all of it. "I don't know what help it'll do, though. I have a weird feeling that this is something much bigger than what it appears to be."

'Yugi…' Tea thought with concern, watching her friend. 'It seems that… every time we manage to catch a break or relax, a new threat appears, even worse than the last.'

"Ugh! But what the heck could be happening! Were they all kidnapped or something!" Joey yelled in frustration.

"We already ruled that out, didn't we?" Tristan asked. "It couldn't have been if it all happened at the same time… Unless there was more than one person behind this."

"I don't know… I really have a feeling that someone is behind this. We have to find out who it is! Before they cause even more trouble!" Yugi said.

"That's right… Because, what if more people disappear?" Tea asked, her eyes now shining with worry.

"It's just too weird that all these people disappeared on the same day, and that they're all duelists who have competed in top tournaments." Yugi sighed again. "There just has to be a bigger explanation for it."

"I think so, too." Said a voice, and everyone turned to see Mai standing before them.

"Mai! When did you get here?" Joey asked. "And why are you here?"

Mai winked at Joey, making him even more flustered. "I was curious about this whole thing. I decided to come to Domino and search for you guys; whenever weird stuff like this happens, you seem to be involved."

Yugi looked at her sadly. "You don't have any idea what's going on, do you?" He asked, only sounding half hopeful.

"Nope, no more than any of you do, kiddo." She answered. "Sorry. But I'll be staying in Domino for a while, just to see if any action picks up." She smiled.

"All we know is that now Bakura's missing, too." Yugi muttered.

"Bakura? I remember him, he was one of the people always hanging around you, right?" Mai said, reflecting on Duelist Kingdom and Battle City.

"Yeah. That's why we've gotta get involved in this. We've gotta find everybody." Joey answered. He brightened up some. "But we never see you around anymore, Mai. It's nice to have you back."

"Hm, well, I thought you all might be getting a little lonely without me." Mai answered. Tea managed to stop her eye from twitching in irritation.

"Well, hate to say it, but I think we'd better all go." Tristan said. "It's getting kind of late."

"Yeah, and some of us do have some important things to do when they get home." Joey said, standing. "Stupid teachers load us with all this homework…"

Mai laughed. "School, I'm glad I'm past that stage." Joey scowled at her.

They all stood and prepared to go their separate ways. "Yugi, Joey… Please, be careful." Tea cautioned them. "Whatever's happening, it seems to be targeting duelists, and you two are some of the best."

"Right, we will, Tea." Yugi answered. He looked to Joey and could see in his eyes that he was warning him to be careful, which Yugi also sent back to Joey.

Joey turned to Mai. "Mai, I want you to be real careful, too. Who knows what could happen?"

"Yeah yeah, like anything could really happen to me, anyways." Mai said, waving off Joey's warning, but when she looked at him she could tell he was serious. "You better watch out for yourself, too, kiddo." She started walking away after Joey nodded.

"Tristan, Tea, you guys better watch out too." Yugi said. "We don't know if it's just duelists that are disappearing, you know."

The two looked surprised, but that made sense, and so they nodded, and all headed off their separate ways.

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/I'm really worried about this, Yami./ Yugi confided in the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle on his journey home. /People have… disappeared./

/I know, Yugi. I can sense your tension. This may be serious, but you need to relax a bit more./ The Pharaoh answered, concerned for the other him.

/But what if they don't come back? What if Bakura… Mako… Espa… even Weevil? What if they're never found again/

/We'll find them. Don't worry, Yugi./

/You've been awfully quiet today, Yami./ Yugi replied. /What do you think about all of this/

/I'm just as puzzled as you, Yugi. But I sense… a dark presence behind all of this. I'm not sure what it is./

/A dark presence/ Yugi asked softly, worried. He was now in sight of and close to the card shop. /I wonder what Grandpa has to say about all of this…/

"I'm home, Grandpa!" Yugi shouted his normal greeting as he stepped into the family card shop, shutting the door behind him and causing the bell on it to ring slightly. He smiled. "How-"

"Yugi! Where have you been all this time?" Yugi stumbled back as his Grandfather appeared, rushing up to him and staring at him in a stern way.

"Wh-what's the matter, Grandpa?" Yugi asked, taken aback.

"Don't tell me you haven't heard about those three duelists who went missing!" Grandpa Motou exclaimed. "How can I not be worried about you roaming the streets when there could be some psycho out there targeting duelists! You've been crowned the King of Games, my boy! You need to be careful!"

"I was only out with my friends, Grandpa." Yugi answered. He often hung out with his friends for an hour or so before coming home from school; his Grandfather was fine with it, as long as he had time to get his homework done every night.

"I don't think that's going to work anymore." Grandpa answered, turning his eyes to the ceiling and rubbing his chin in thought. "Maybe I should instill a curfew…"

"A-a curfew! But Grandfather-!"

"Oh, don't you 'Grandfather' me!" Grandpa cut Yugi off again, but then grew very grave and serious. "Yugi, it's not that I don't trust you to be careful, but look at all the dangerous things that have happened already."

Yugi looked down as he remembered Duelist Kingdom and Battle City. "But my friends and I are really careful. Please Grandpa?" He looked at him pleadingly. Grandpa didn't answer, but looked back at Yugi. "Hmm… If I promise to always stay with my friends, will you let me go out? All of the people who disappeared were alone when it happened, so if I stay with my friends, I'm sure I'll be safe." Yugi explained.

His Grandfather bowed his head. "Fine, but please, Yugi, be on your guard."

Yugi nodded. 'After that freak-out, there's no way I can tell him about what happened today. He'd never let me go out.' He hurried up the stairs into his room.

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The bright moon hung over Domino city, casting pale light into Yugi's bedroom, where Yugi lay on his bed, head rested on his hands in his pillow. He was wide awake, and his clock ticked the minutes away until midnight.

'What in the world could be going on…?' Yugi thought, still thinking about the day's events. 'Why would so many people just leave on the same day, around the same time?' He sighed mentally. 'This is making me so anxious I can't sleep.'

"Yugi." The Pharaoh spoke out to him, and Yugi turned in surprise to see the spirit standing next to the bed, looking down at him. The moon's beams reached through his transparent form, but he looked as strong and confident as any physical being. "You need to try to relax and get some rest."

Yugi closed his eyes. "I know. But I can't. I can't stop thinking about what's happened to everyone." He opened his eyes and sat up, looking at the Pharaoh. "I don't like this. I'm _sure_ there's someone behind it all."

"Yes, me too." The Pharaoh said, crossing his arms and looking out the window. 'But who?'

"I just hope that no one else goes missing." Yugi said worriedly.

Yami Yugi frowned. "I don't know. I'm sorry to say this, but," he hesitated, "it may be to our advantage if any other people go missing."

"What?" Yugi started. "But how…?"

"The police haven't a clue what's going on right now. There were no witnesses and no clues at any of these instances." The Pharaoh looked back at Yugi. "If more people were to disappear, the chances of someone seeing it or of something being left behind increase. People are keeping an eye out now. I regret saying it, but we almost need this to happen again."

Yugi looked at the other him with scared eyes. "But, what if it's someone we know again? What if it's Joey, or Mai? Or even Tristan or Tea?"

Yami stared at the ground. "We have to hang through and hope for the best, Yugi."

Yugi swallowed and nodded. Yami stared out of the window at the moon again. "I've also noticed that, if I may say so, all of the duelists who disappeared were generally low-level. They've all competed in large tournaments, but only Bakura made it to the semi-finals out of all of them, and previously he had no record of dueling anywhere. Weevil used to be the regional champion, but lately he's lost so many duels he's hardly considered a champ anymore."

Yugi nodded. "That's true. So, do you think, if this happens again… Will it be higher lever duelists this time, or the same as before?"

"I don't know." Yami answered, and sat down in Yugi's desk chair. "The only thing we can do is wait and see what happens."

"Hmm…" Yugi stared at the wall for a moment. "You know…" He said after a minute. "This is almost like a game."

Yami stared at him, then smiled. "You're right. We have an opponent, whoever he is out there, and we're playing against him. Right now, the only strategy we have is to wait and watch, and when the time comes, we will form our own counter-strategy."

Yugi sighed and lay back down. "Yeah, but who in the world is out there who is stealing duelists?"

"We'll concentrate on that when the time comes, Yugi. For now, go to sleep and get some rest."

Yugi smiled, eyes closed, and nodded. The spirit of the Puzzle faded and disappeared, returning to the Item, and Yugi tried to give his mind a rest. Sleep was a long time to come, but somewhere in the night it reached him.

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Woooh, that's it. Sorry the chapter was so darn long, I don't know if anyone is still around reading it by now. For those of you who are, please, please review. Send your suggestions, comments, and of course constructive criticism is always warmly welcomed! Want anything changed? Did I do something wrong? I'm open to everyone's opinions. Also, as a note about some of the things in this fanfic; I've never been in a police office, I'm not exactly sure what it's like. Also, I'm only guessing that Mai doesn't live in Domino and that she's graduated from school by now. Well, that's all I can remember… Thanks to everyone who's stuck around this long! I was going to split the chapter in two for easier reading but I couldn't find a good breaking point. Thanks again!


	2. Day 2

Sunlight leaked into Yugi's room, waking the new day outside. But sunlight did not wake Yugi; that was a job reserved for his alarm clock. As the pesky thing rang, Yugi fumbled around and finally slammed it off. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes, and wondered at what hour he had finally fallen asleep last night; he felt incredibly tired.

The worries of the previous day settled on him once again as he began his daily morning routine. In the bathroom, he splashed cold water on his face as he did every day, trying to make himself feel the freshness of the morning, but instead he only felt weighed down. As he looked back up, he met his own reflection in the mirror hanging over the sink, but wasn't surprised when he also saw his Yami staring back at him from the mirror.

"You're still tense, Yugi." Yami said, leaning against the wall behind Yugi, his arms crossed.

Yugi turned and gave Yami an apologetic smile, trying to pick up his own attitude. "Sorry, Yami. You're right; I said I wouldn't worry so much anymore, so I won't."

Yami nodded as Yugi went back to his room and watched from a distance as Yugi finished readying himself for school. He caught his other self frowning and his eyes concentrated in distress and worry. The Pharaoh shook his head and approached Yugi.

Yugi looked up, surprised when the spirit placed a hand on his shoulder. "Yugi, we've always been able to take everything that's happened to us so far. We've fought far worse; real monsters, the Shadow Realm, Pegasus and his Millennium Eye, and even the wrath of Marik and his psychotic other self. I know that no matter what comes before us this time, we'll make it through. We've got each other, and all of our friends by our side. How could we lose with such strength?"

Yugi gazed into the Pharaoh's eyes, getting the full message of what he meant. Finally, he smiled, and Yami could feel Yugi relax. "You're right, Yami." He pulled on the Millennium Puzzle. "Thanks."

Yami smiled and nodded, then faded into the Puzzle, glad he could abate Yugi's unease. Yugi traveled downstairs to meet his Grandfather in the kitchen, making himself some toast. After getting himself some cereal and toast, Yugi sat down at the table and began to eat. Across from the table, the TV was visible. The morning news was playing.

"And now, for an update on what has been dubbed, the "Missing Duelists" case." The news anchor continued. "The location of all three of the previous duelists remains unknown, and investigators are baffled. However, it seems that the list of vanished people are growing. Yesterday it was revealed that Ryou Bakura, a semi-finalist in Kaiba Corp's Battle City Tournament, has also gone missing."

Yugi gaped at the TV as a picture of his white-haired friend appeared on TV, joining the pictures of Mako, Espa, and Weevil. He hung his head slightly. 'Wow, this is kinda depressing.'

"Bakura… Isn't he one of your friends, Yugi?" Yugi's Grandfather turned from the kitchen counter to peer at the television. Yugi froze, knowing he was caught. "You didn't tell me this yesterday."

"Well, I, uh…" Yugi sought frantically for an excuse, one besides the truth, and mentally turned to his Yami for help, who merely crossed his arms and smirked at him, watching.

"Hm, but I remember Bakura acting strangely when I was watching him the hospital…" Grandpa Motou continued. "Something to do with his Millennium Ring…" He looked at Yugi with sharp eyes.

'Ah, oh no! How do I get out of this one?' Yugi thought to himself. There had been several times now when he had almost accidentally revealed the presence of his other self to his Grandfather.

"Heh heh, it's alright, Yugi. I know about the Pharaoh and your Millennium Puzzle." Grandpa chuckled to himself.

Yugi's jaw dropped. "Wh-what! You _know_, Grandpa?"

"Oh, come on, my boy! Give me a little more credit than that! You didn't honestly think you could keep anything from your Grandpa, did you?" He answered, waving one finger at Yugi.

Yugi sunk into his chair, still amazed. /Did _you_ know the he knew, Yami/ He asked. He almost laughed out loud at the shocked expression on his Yami's face; such a vulnerable look from him was rare.

/I had no idea./ 'Yugi's Grandfather amazes even me sometimes.' Yami warned himself to be careful around the old man.

"Grandpa, how long have you… known?" Yugi asked, returning his attention to the real world.

"To be honest, I've suspected it ever since I gave you the Puzzle, Yugi. Since then, it's only become more and more obvious." He winked.

"And all this time I've been trying to hide it… and you _knew_…"

"Oh, come now! Of course I know about Shadow Magic and all that! How do you think I sent you a message from the Shadow Realm back in Duelist Kingdom?"

"Oh, you mean that strange dream?" Yugi asked before he could stop himself, and his Grandfather's expression changed quickly.

"Dream? You thought that was just a weird dream? Do you know how hard that was for me to do!" He yelled.

"Ah! Grandpa, calm down! I really did appreciate it!" Yugi said as Grandpa calmed. "Really, without that message I wouldn't have even made it through the Duelist Kingdom finals' first match."

"Well, you'll be late for school, Yugi, so you'd better get on your way." Grandpa said, closing one eye disapprovingly at his grandson. "And remember, be careful."

Yugi nodded and grabbed his pack. "Bye Grandpa!" He waved as he headed out the door.

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"Hey, Yugi." Joey greeted solemnly as they both entered the classroom.

"Good morning, Joey." Yugi replied as they made their way over to Tea and Tristan, who were already waiting for them.

"Did you see what was in the newspaper? About Bakura?" Joey asked.

"Yeah. I guess they decided to add him into this story after all." Yugi said, remembering how the police officer they had talked to told them not to get their hopes up.

"Kinda depressing, when your friend's in the news like that." Tea added softly. "But at least no one new has disappeared."

Yugi looked up at Tea sadly. "Yeah, but… that might be a problem." Seeing his friends' faces, he continued. "Yami told me last night that we don't have any clues right now, and that unless some more people disappear, we might never get any leads. The more it happens, the more chances there are for witnesses or clues."

Tea gasped. "But, that's horrible." She stared at the floor. "I don't want to _hope_ for any more disappearances… What if you or Joey are next?" She said quietly. "My parents were worried about this last night."

"Yeah, my family had a little argument about it." Tristan said.

"Serenity called me last night." Joey said. "She's real worried." His expression made it obvious that it pained him for his little sister to be so caught up in worrying about him. He bowed his head.

'Hmm…' With a flash of the Millennium Puzzle, Yugi's features changed, and suddenly it was Yami standing with his friends. They all looked at him, surprised by his sudden appearance. He smiled at them, confident.

"Don't worry. No matter what happens, we'll always have each other to rely on." He caught Joey's eyes, which widened for a second, but then Joey smiled.

"Yeah. Thanks, bud." Joey said, standing taller now and acting more like himself. Yami's appearance seemed to have a calming affect on the whole group; everyone seemed more confident than before.

"You four again? It's time for class: get to your seats and stop talking!" The teacher yelled angrily, standing at the head of the classroom. The four started, then turned to once again see everyone else sitting. Tristan, Tea, and Joey quickly walked to their seats. Yami handed control back to Yugi, who stood still for a minute, not expecting control to be handed back. He quickly ran to his seat when people started snickering.

Joey looked at the empty desk next to him from the corner of his eye and frowned again.

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The four stood just beyond the school's entrance, done with the place for another day.

"It's time for us to start taking some action." Joey declared with a serious glint in his eyes. Behind him, the others nodded.

"We need some idea of what happened to those who have vanished." Yugi said. "We need to do some investigating."

"Are you saying we should go visit the people who were around those who disappeared?" Tristan asked.

Joey nodded. "That's a good idea, too. All of the duelists live in the general area; it wouldn't take too long to go to any of their houses."

Yugi turned to look up at Joey. "Let's go to Espa Roba's. There were more people around when he disappeared, and we have more details on that case than any other."

Tristan nodded. "Alright. We can take my van, then."

Shortly after, the four were riding toward Espa Roba's house in Tristan's vehicle.

"You know, this isn't the most attractive van I've ever seen." Tea said flatly, noting the rust on the outside and it's obvious age. "It's not even above some of the worst I've seen."

"At least I have a van." Tristan snapped back from behind the wheel. Tea grinned.

"This is it, isn't it?" Yugi asked, peering out of the window.

The van pulled up into a long driveway. They were now outside the city borders, in a slightly more suburban area. As the van stopped and they got out, they couldn't help but notice a slightly desolate appearance to the house, as though a grief hung around it. It was noticeably quiet, and the lawn was empty with no sign that there were five kids living there. The gloom around the entire area made the group feel a bit uncomfortable as they approached the front door. Yugi hesitated for a moment, and then knocked.

It was a while before anything happened at all. Yugi was about to try again when he finally heard movement from the other side of the wall. The door opened to reveal the other four Roba brothers, once again sporting similar hairstyles and clothes, but looking much dismayed and disheartened. Yugi couldn't help but feel sorry for them, but as they finally lifted their heads to see who was at the door, they all perked up a small amount.

"Um, hey guys." Yugi said, trying for an optimistic greeting in spite of how he felt.

"Yugi, Joey." They all said in unison, and perked up slightly more. "We thought it'd just be another policeman." The second oldest added.

"Well, actually, we were hoping to talk to you about that, too." Yugi said, once again trying to sound different from how he felt. But to his surprise, the Roba brothers nodded without much hesitation.

"We wouldn't mind talking to you guys," one of them said, and another agreed. "Joey's the only one to beat our brother when he was using his ESP. We know you're good guys."

Yugi smiled, glancing up at Joey, and for the first time the blond realized that these younger kids looked up to him in a weird sort of way. His heart almost melted for a moment, and then he regained himself. "Well alright, then." He said, now with more courage as the brothers led the group into the house.

"Can you guys tell us about everything that happened right before your brother… disappeared?" Joey asked, uncertain once more.

A sort of depression fell on the brothers once more, and the oldest stepped forward to tell their story. "Well… the day it happened, Espa had taken us to a planetarium, as a special treat." A smile came to his face for a moment. "We all still really enjoy all that stuff about the cosmos and the psychic universe, even if we don't use it to win duels anymore. We were all enjoying ourselves and such- the place was huge. But for a moment, Espa walked away from us to see what was in another room."

The Roba fell silent, and the family all looked towards another one of their siblings, the one who particularly enjoyed candies. Even now he sucked on a lollipop, but he removed it from his mouth to speak. "I went after Espa right after he left… but the room he went into was empty. It didn't even have any stuff in it." With that, he gloomily stuck the candy back into his mouth.

The eldest picked up once more. "Espa couldn't have had more than three seconds to himself. The room he went into was in the middle of having it's exhibit changed, so there wasn't even any stuff in it… Not even Espa."

"And there wasn't any way he could have left the museum?" Yugi asked, perplexed.

The Roba shook his head once more. "We talked to everyone in the planetarium. The person at the front desk said she hadn't seen him leave, and that she would have remembered if he had. We all look so alike, I guess it leaves a mark on the mind…"

"And this happened right at 5:25, right?" Yugi asked, and the siblings nodded. The short duelist crossed his arms and sunk into deep thoughts.

"Please! Do you know where Espa is?" One of his brothers cried out. "We heard some freaky stuff went on in Battle City, but you handled it. You're the best duelist in the world, Yugi! You have to figure it out!"

Yugi frowned, not having the heart to tell them that being the world's best duelist had little to do with the predicament at hand. But instead he smiled again. "Don't worry, we'll find your brother, and all of the rest of the duelists who have gone missing."

"Yeah! That's right!" Joey yelled enthusiastically, brandishing one fist in the air as if victory was clear already. "I promise your brother will come back! And Joey Wheeler never breaks a promise!"

This seemed to cheer the brothers up some more, and Yugi's group headed out. Yugi still couldn't help but feel bad as he left them all still in such a sad state, but there was little he could do.

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Joey stared at the phone hanging on the wall with intensity, as if it were an opponent in some sort of deathly duel. Or perhaps it was with hatred that he regarded the thing. The device looked harmless enough, sitting in its cradle of bland plastic on the equally bland wall, but to Joey it was the whole center of an argument he held with himself.

'I should call her. Just to make sure she's safe.' He thought, once again, for what seemed like the hundredth time since he had come home. 'I should. But… but what if she answers?' He cringed at the thought, at the awkwardness that would ensue. 'But what if she's not alright?'

A realization came to mind. 'What if she _doesn't_ answer? That could mean something's happened to her.' He knew what would happen then. He would freak, despite his attempts. 'And if she didn't pick up only because she wasn't around?' Then he would make a total fool out of himself. He cringed again.

'But what if she isn't alright?'

A growl rose deep in his throat as his anger bubbled. "That's it!" He burst, and flung an empty soda can at the phone, as if venting on the thing could solve his problems. Crossing his arms, he finally turned his back on the thing. "I'm not calling."

He made to get up and leave, but just as he started, the accursed thing rang. His heart skipped a beat, and before he realized it he had the phone up to his ear.

'Mai!'

"Joey?" Joey let out a sigh, for whatever reason, as he recognized the voice of his little sister, Serenity. "Big brother?" The voice called again, and Joey smiled.

"Hey, sis, what's up?"

Joey heard the relief that flooded into his sister's voice. "Thank goodness, Joey. For a moment I was afraid…"

"Are you still worrying about that thing on the news? Relax." Joey was relieved to hear that he sounded cool about the whole thing. The last thing he wanted was for his sister to spend her time worrying about him.

"But Joey, if duelists are becoming targets… You could be next!" His heart nearly broke as he heard her voice choke. "You're one of the best, and if there's another psycho maniac out there…" She broke off, and Joey knew she was thinking of Marik.

"It's ok, Serenity, alright?" He tried his best to comfort her, and wished he could be by her side to tell her so in person. "We've handled stuff way tougher than this, and you know I'll always be fine as long as you're alright. You've got to remember to be careful too, ok?"

He heard his sister sniff through the phone, and then her voice came, still faulty but stronger. "Ok, Joey. I know you're strong. But please, just be careful. We'll always be best as a team, even if we're not right by each other."

"That's right, and don't you forget it." Joey smiled, for his sister's sake.

They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone, each again wishing for the other's safety. Joey's hand still rested on the phone as he placed it in its receiver.

"Serenity."

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"No!"

Yugi slammed his fists onto his desk, his eyes clenched shut and his muscles tensed in pure frustration.

"Yugi…"

The Pharaoh stood behind Yugi, watching, concerned, as the young boy pressed his hands to his forehead.

"I don't get it… None of this makes any _sense_…" Yugi muttered, as if unaware that the Pharaoh had spoken at all. Outside, the sun had long since set, and the stars blinked brightly in the sky, but the lights that had not yet gone off in Yugi's room washed them out. The Pharaoh's shoulders sunk, and a rare look came upon his face, one that was not commanding or cool or in charge, but one that was caring and concerned, and slightly sympathetic.

The transparent spirit stole over to Yugi silently, and placed his hand on Yugi's shoulder, a touch that only the young boy could feel.

"We don't have any clues… any leads…" Yugi said, not turning to face his counterpart.

"Yugi, listen to me." Yami leaned forward so that he could see his hikari's face. The boy's pushed unhappiness caused a stirring in his heart. "I know you're concerned, but please… This won't do any good."

Yugi finally turned his head to face Yami, which relieved the spirit until he saw the collection of water at the edge of his hikari's eyes. "But Yami…" Yugi said, struggling to steady his voice. "We've faced so much danger before… and it grows greater every time. What if the people who are missing are already…"

"Yugi, look at me!" The Pharaoh said, regaining his commanding aura, and the two made eye contact. Yugi's eyes widened for a moment as he felt his Yami's surge of emotion.

"You are never alone, Yugi. Never. And neither are the people who have disappeared. We are all in this together, and there is nothing in the world that can break the bond shared between friends. If the Millennium Puzzle isn't a sign of that, then think back on all of the times the evil we faced crumbled merely because of our belief in each other."

Yugi sniffed and stood up, facing his slightly taller counterpart now with a little more confidence.

"You worry so much about the safety of others. It's a mark that you are truly a good person, Yugi. But for now, we must use all the strength we have." Yami smiled down at the boy before him, the one he had sworn to protect. "You're tired, Yugi. If you don't get rest, then you'll be of no help to anyone."

Yugi's eyes went to the floor, but when he looked back up at the spirit, there was a sort of smile in them. "Yeah, you're right." The small smile on his face said everything.

'_Thanks.'_

Yugi let himself be led over to his bed by his alter ego as he turned off the lights, finally. As he sunk beneath the covers, he looked up at his other self, who stood leaning against his desk, watching him.

"Remember what I said before? About this being like a game?"

Yugi nodded.

"We must continue to play the game, Yugi. We must hunt for our opponent and find out all we can about him before making a bigger move. But you know, if this were a game of Duel Monsters, and you had let your stress rule you as you have so far, you would have lost the game ages ago."

Yugi smiled sheepishly. "I know, Yami. I guess I had forgotten about how games are supposed to be played… Just for fun, without anything on the line. But I know if we play with our heart, we'll win."

Yami smiled back. "That's right." Inside, relief filled him as he sense his other self relax.

Yugi reached around his neck and took the puzzle off for the night. As he set it down on the table next to him, his eyes met his Yami's one last time, and both understood that so long as the other existed, they would not fail. In a flash of golden light from the puzzle, the spirit was gone. However, as Yugi settled in beneath the covers, he felt surrounded by the presence of his other self and his friends.

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Lookie, lookie! It's chapter two! And it's slightly shorter than chapter 1! If there is still anyone reading this, well, you know, review! And thanks for sticking around! Let me know how I'm doing, and if you have any suggestions or questions or comments. Thanks to all who reviewed last time! Until next time, ja ne!


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